Races with Changing Faces -
Major Races

Romulans

Since their very first appearance Romulans were believed to be
descendants of the Vulcans. This is the rationale why the Romulans
in TOS, more precisely in TOS: "Balance of Terror"
and "The
Enterprise Incident" as well as in the feature films "Star Trek V" and "Star Trek VI",
looked exactly as their distant Vulcan cousins. In contrast, the Romulans in TNG and later always
sported characteristic V-shaped bones protruding from their foreheads. Even all
of the few Romulans we could recently see on Star Trek Enterprise had this
feature. The obvious motivation for the amendment of their make-up using modern
techniques was that the Romulans were going to be more or less regular players
in TNG. They could be given more distinctiveness this way - although the make-up
department must have been aware that they are a Vulcan
spin-off from a time too recent for evolution to take effect.

Romulan CommanderTOS: "Balance of Terror"

Romulan CommanderTOS: "The Enterprise Incident"

Ambassador Caithlin Dar"Star Trek V"

Ambassador Nanclus"Star Trek VI"

Alas, in "Star Trek V" and "Star Trek VI", filmed two
years after the launch of TNG, the Romulans were given even foreheads once again. So
the guise of the movie Romulans remained "consistent" with TOS. Since their
alteration from TOS to TNG is not
as significant as that of the Klingons and
above all it was never mentioned that there was
actually a dissimilarity, we might be able to ignore it nonetheless. Any explanation
relating it to a mutation like with the Klingons would appear manufactured -
even if we concede a certain likelihood that the disease that plagued the
Klingons since the double feature ENT: "Affliction" and
"Divergence" may have spread among the Romulans likewise.

Admiral Alidar JarokTNG: "The Defector"

Commander SirolTNG: "The Pegasus"

Senator Kimara CretakDS9: "Inter Arma..."

Commander Donatra"Star Trek Nemesis"

Sela, Tasha Yar's half-Romulan daughter from a parallel timeline, looks like
a Romulan without protruding cranial bones. Her haircut would
conceal much but not all of the V-shaped bones like typical
"purebred" Romulans have them. On a side note, her initially extremely
V-shaped bang in TNG: "Redemption, Part I" is much less pronounced as
soon as in part II of the same episode and in TNG:
"Unification". Crewman Tarses from TNG: "The Drumhead", a
quarter-Romulan who always passed as being three quarter human and one quarter
Vulcan, even has a completely smooth forehead. Hence, we may deduce that the
protruding bones are a recessive trait that would likely fade away in combinations
of Romulan and alien DNA.

SelaTNG: "Unification"

Crewman TarsesTNG: "The Drumhead"

T'Pel/SelakTNG: "Data's Day"

T'Paal/TalleraTNG: "Gambit"

Romulans seem to have no trouble passing as
Vulcans, or the other way round. The first case in point is T'Pel, the Vulcan
dignitary from TNG: "Data's Day" who turns out to be a Romulan spy
named Selak. The bones may have been surgically submerged to allow her to pose
as a Vulcan. But we also get the impression that Vulcans and Romulans are still
genetically identical for the most part. When Data and Beverly examine DNA
traces from T'Pel's alleged transporter accident and compare them with what they
believe is T'Pel's actual genome, they don't notice that the latter is Romulan.
Moreover, Spock, even without any forehead make-up, does not strike
anyone on Romulus as being a Vulcan during his underground operation in TNG:
"Unification". Vice versa, there is the Vulcan terrorist T'Paal/Tallera
who disguises herself as a Romulan in TNG: "Gambit". She has pronounced
cranial bones like most of the Romulans. Like Selak/T'Pel she might have been surgically altered
for this purpose, but the simpler explanation is that Vulcans and Romulans share
the same basic traits as well as the same variations.

The Romulan Talok, who poses as a Vulcan in ENT:
"Kir'Shara", has been surgically altered for that purpose though. We
see him with his original Romulan forehead bones at the end of the episode. The pronounced bones
might be more common among Romulans. Perhaps some of the lower-ranking
Romulans in TOS who were wearing helmets actually had them too. Interestingly,
some Vulcans in TOS: "Amok Time" could be seen with very similar
helmets.

Speaking of uniforms, the Romulans on Enterprise (most
notably in the trilogy ENT: "Babel One", "United" and
"The Aenar") don't only sport the 24th century make-up but also wear
the latest uniform style from "Star Trek Nemesis". Although there have
probably been financial reasons (the Romulan
cityscape from "Nemesis" was reused likewise), this may add to a
continuity of the Romulan look from the 22nd to the 24th century. Yet, it is
hard to ignore that the Romulans were most frequently seen with the TNG/DS9
uniform style, followed by the TOS uniforms, whereas the ENT and
"Nemesis" look remained more or less singular.

Romulans with helmetsTOS: "Balance of Terror"

Mintakan womanTNG: "Who Watches..."

A fitting but not necessary rationale for the change of physiology is that the Romulans, during
their long exodus, merged with other species. This would concur with the statements by McCoy from TOS: "Journey to Babel"
and Chekov from TOS: "The Enterprise Incident", that Vulcan and
Romulan physiology are similar yet not identical. It would also explain why none
of the Vulcans on the Enterprise-D was a suited blood donor for the injured
Romulan in TNG: "The Enemy" while Worf was. Yet, this does not have to
mean that Klingons are possibly genetically closer related to Romulans than
Vulcans are. Perhaps it is just an example corresponding with real-life transplantation
medicine, where certain blood or tissue characteristics cannot be found in close
relatives but sometimes in strangers. Finally, it is interesting
that the Mintakans, who were described as "proto-Vulcan" in TNG:
"Who Watches the Watchers", share more traits with the Romulans than
with the Vulcans. But the Mintakans must have been living on their planet for
much longer than the time since the Vulcan/Romulan schism. Whether they evolved
from the genetic seeds of the Progenitors (TNG: "The Chase") or were
relocated to the planet by the Preservers like Miramanee's people (TOS:
"The Paradise Syndrome") remains uncertain.

If there are two distinct races or sub-species of
Romulans, there are likely social and cultural disparities between them too, and
we may come up with similar theories as they used to rationalize the existence
of two Klingon races. We may explain why we
see racially homogenous Romulan crews and why the Romulan Empire is so
susceptive to upheavals, as Shinzon mentions in "Nemesis". Conversely,
the already mentioned helmets that some low-ranking Romulans are wearing in TOS
may be meant to conceal the racial difference, in order to facilitate the
service of different races in the same military.

In
the reboot movie "Star Trek (2009)" all Romulans that we see are part of Nero's crew and are originally from the 24th century. They
have smooth foreheads, just like the Romulans in TOS and the TOS movies, and unlike those in the 24th century series and ENT.
It is very odd that none of them has the forehead bones that seem to
be the predominant trait of Romulans of their time. Their bald heads and tattoos are just as uncommon. This look is explained in the
non-canon comic Countdown as a mourning ritual.

Nero"Star Trek (2009)"

Eric Bana (Nero)Publicity photo

Ayel"Star Trek (2009)"

Clifton Collins (Ayel)Publicity photo

There are, however, slight modifications to their noses that we wouldn't even notice without comparing the
screen
caps of Nero and Ayel with photos of actors Eric Bana and Clifton Collins, respectively. They are both wearing appliances in their roles
to widen the nose and to make the bridge of the nose form more of a straight line with the forehead (coming close to the type of a Roman nose). Since this alteration is very well within the natural variations among humans, Romulans and Vulcans alike, we may easily
ignore it as a distinguishing mark of Romulans.

Concept with V-shaped bonesBlu-ray special features

Test with V-shaped bonesBlu-ray special features

Test with brandingsBlu-ray special features

Bana's make-up with wide noseBlu-ray special features

The special features of the "Star Trek (2009)"
Blu-ray show concept sketches as well as test make-ups that were done for the
Romulans to appear in the movie. Besides keeping the forehead bones it was
also considered at some point to create the V-shape through brandings instead.
But then it was decided to remove the skin structure altogether and apply only
tattoos.

Andorians

The Andorians in TOS:
"Journey to Babel", "Whom Gods Destroy" and a few more
episodes had intense light
blue
skin and antennae protruding almost straight from their heads above their ears.
Obviously the make-up techniques of those days were not sufficient to show a
smooth transition from the skin to the antennae, and a hair piece was ideal
to conceal that imperfection.

Shras, TOS AndorianTOS: "Journey to Babel"

ThelinTAS: "Yesteryear"

Andorian in Elysian CouncilTAS: "The Time Trap"

TMP Andorian"Star Trek I"

In TAS there
are two variations of Andorians, both closely based on the TOS version. Thelin
is the Andorian officer in place of Mr. Spock in "Yesteryear". His
skin color is not blue at all, but a shade of yellow. Could he be an Aenar?
Anyway, his antennae are the
same color as his skin. In contrast, in TAS: "The Time Trap" we see
an Andorian with bright teal skin and white antennae, the same color as his
hair. Also, the latter Andorian looks rather crude compared to Thelin who, as
a main character was visibly drawn with more attention to his features.

Make-up artist Fred Phillips reproduced only the basic Andorian look for "Star Trek I"
and made a couple of changes and refinements. The antennae were now thinner and
not segmented any more; they were closer together, and there may have been slight forehead ridges.
The hair color of the TMP aliens appeared to be yellowish or blonde on photos
(like in The Art of Star Trek) but was rather white like that of TOS
Andorians on screen. The
appearance did not remain quite consistent through the movies. In "Star Trek
IV" there was one bald Andorian whose antennae were attached to an
otherwise even forehead and thicker again. Another member of his race in the
same movie looked again more like in TOS, as did the Andorian god who could be
seen in "Star Trek V", the latter possibly with an enlarged forehead.

Movie Andorian"Star Trek IV"

Alternative Movie Andorian"Star Trek IV"

Andorian god"Star Trek V"

TNG Andorian, photoTNG: "The Offspring"

The look of Andorians most noticeably changed in TNG:
"The Offspring" where one of Lal's choices of appearance presented on
the holodeck was an
Andorian female. A photo from The Art of Star Trek of this Andorian
make-up exhibits a considerably darker and much less bluish skin, although it is
greenish in the episode itself as will be analyzed a few paragraphs later.
Also, the antennae were ribbed like twigs instead of smooth. A similar Andorian
appeared on Risa in TNG: "Captain's Holiday" but was only seen from
behind, barely giving away his or her skin color.

Enterprise
re-introduced us to the Andorians with ENT: "The Andorian Incident".
Their look can be described as a middle ground between TOS and Movie style. The
Andorians now have clearly visible protruding bones in their foreheads as the bases of their
antennae. The antennae are also in motion, but this is something we simply may not
have seen Andorians do before.

Blue TNG AndorianTNG: "Captain's Holiday"

Shran, ENT AndorianENT: "Shadows of P'Jem"

ENT AndorianENT: "Cease Fire"

AenarENT: "The Aenar"

We may conclude that Andorians always had moving
antennae. Some of them (a distinct race/subspecies?) have an either brown or
green skin (in any case nothing like blue), as well as differently shaped antennae. Also, all of them
arguably have
protruding bones, we only couldn't see them when they were covered with hair.
The only exception would be the bald Andorian in "Star Trek IV", but
he wasn't clearly visible anyway. Unfortunately none of the various Andorian
variants is remotely similar to the subspecies of the Aenar with their
characteristic pale skin and eyes (ENT: "The Aenar"). Making the Aenar look
more like the Andorian woman from TNG: "The Offspring" would have been an opportunity to create
better consistency.
Still, the existence of the Aenar (who would likely still have no role in the
Andorian society in the 23rd and 24th century which would explain their absence
from TOS and TNG)
makes it more plausible that there are other distinct subtypes of Andorians as well.

The green "Offspring" Andorian

As already hinted at, Data's "daughter" Lal poses as an Andorian female
in TNG: "The Offspring". However, as opposed to the dark brown skin on
the photograph the actual screen cap from the episode shows us a greenish face.
But it's not just the face. Her whole body has a greenish hue, including her
hair and the originally silver shoulder pads of her uniform. Also, the contrast
of her body is lower than that of the surrounding as if she were standing in a
bright green spotlight that were completely absorbed by everything else in the
room. All this insinuates that the scene has been tampered with. The question is
if this Andorian is really supposed to be green or if we can ascribe the strange
color to the lighting conditions nonetheless, or to some other effect of the
holodeck.

As to whether the green filter effect was intentional, we need to review the
whole scene and the episode's screenplay. Decreasing the green portion of the
RGB screen cap in an image editor it is very easily possible to restore the
original look of the Andorian just like on the photo. It also becomes clear that
only the Andorian figure was manipulated, not the yellow grid lines of the
holodeck which are way too dark after the color and contrast correction. The
same goes for Data and Troi who are located behind Lal and who are shown in
normal colors. Lal is standing in front of some sort of semi-transparent mirror
which may throw green light on just her body (at least that's what we may be
supposed to think; the light evidently doesn't come from there). On the other
hand, Lal herself poses as three other lifeforms none of whom appears in false
colors: a male human, a female human (her final choice), a Klingon and the
original silver android look. All these creations are bluish when seen through
the mirror but in natural colors in an unobstructed view.

Lal as Andorian, close-upTNG: "The Offspring"

Lal as Andorian, correctedTNG: "The Offspring"

Lal as Andorian, totalTNG: "The Offspring"

Lal as humanTNG: "The Offspring"

The excerpt from the script with the writer's notes, describing the set as
Data and Troi walk in, confirms that the bluish glass pane is actually meant to be a mirror:

9A ANGLE (OPTICAL)to see Data has created a modest set with a mirror... in front of which stands Lal...Data: "Computer, Lal -- gender sequence finalists... begin..."Superimposing with a wipe (necessary I think to distinguish that she is not actually changing into
these beings)...

9B AN ANDORIAN FEMALE (OPTICAL)Data: "An Andorian female..."

Considering that all of Lal's choices are just holographic
images ("she is not actually changing into these beings"), they
are not subject to lighting conditions and anything is possible anyway. Lal may
have chosen to tone down the Andorian figure for some reason, or it may be a
glitch in the holodeck software that she appears in bright green instead of
brown. Regarding the mirror, it may be transparent and blue just because it
looks more sophisticated this way and to allow the camera to pan half-way around
Lal. Still, this doesn't explain why the Andorian is green in the first place,
even without looking through the glass.

The real-life rationale for Lal's changing look may be as
follows: It is evident that the different holographic versions of Lal were all
retroactively inserted into the holodeck scene with Troi and Data. This
additional effort was necessary to allow the transition effects between them. In
the early 1990s the most common method of image composition was the blue screen
technique (no, not the one invented by Bill Gates ;-)). However, filming a blue
Andorian against a blue wall may have resulted in parts of the face being cut
out like the blue background. It is only a theory, but this may be the reason
why it was decided to change the Andorian face to brown in the first place. When
completing the scene, the visual effects artist may have tried to tone down the
perhaps too harsh contrast of white hair and dark skin. With blue being too
unnatural, the Andorian woman was digitally manipulated to the green version as
it appeared in the episode.

Tellarites

It may be surprising that Tellarite appearances can be confirmed for no more
than two TOS episodes: "Journey to Babel" and "Whom Gods
Destroy". In addition, two more different Tellarites can be seen out of the
episode context in the end credits of TOS: "A Private Little War" and
"The Deadly Years", respectively. The latter look like they could have
originally been test shots for the characters who would appear in "Journey
to Babel". Finally, after the attack of the non-corporeal Zetarians on
Memory Alpha we can see a dead alien in a chair next to his Andorian colleague. He
very
likely is intended to be another Tellarite although his make-up looks a bit
different. All these versions of Tellarites have a make-up with a
"swinish snout" in common, but aside from that there is some variety
already during the three years of TOS.

On the first appearance of Tellarites in "Journey to Babel"
Ambassador Gav and his unnamed aide are characterized by their recessed eyes and
furry claws with three fingers. The look of the two aforementioned Tellarites
from the end credits is much the same, which, in addition to their posture, speaks
in favor of the theory that these are test shots made prior to "Journey to
Babel". The Tellarite in "Whom Gods Destroy" has the same claws,
but his eyeholes are not deepened; they look more like those of humans. The alien in
"The Lights of Zetar", on the other hand, has five fingers instead of
the claws, and his eyeholes are human-like. Aside from his furry eyebrows the
latter could easily be a human being or a member of another of the many
human-like TOS races, just with a big nose.

In TAS:
"The Time Trap" there is a Tellarite among the members of the
Elysian Council with only slightly recessed eyes and five fingers.

Ambassador
GavTOS: "Journey to Babel"

Supposed
test shot for GavTOS: "The Deadly Years"

Tellarite
inmate of Elba IITOS: "Whom Gods Destroy"

Dead alien at Memory AlphaTOS: "The Lights of Zetar"

Tellarites also show up in the movies "Star Trek IV" and "Star
Trek VI". The screen caps of the two movies are taken from the DVD bonus
material. While the very two depicted Tellarites can be seen in the respective movies,
they are too
far in the background to recognize any details. In "Star Trek IV" the
Tellarite make-up is a faithful further development of the look established in
TOS: "Journey to Babel", including the deep eyeholes. The nose is
still largely identical to the one from TOS, only a bit more rounded, which
tones down the impression of a pig snout. The Tellarite in "Star Trek
VI" has the same kind of a more rounded nose, but his eyeholes are human
once again. In "Star Trek IV" we can see the Tellarite's hands, and
while they look clumsier than human hands, there are five fingers.

Tellarite in Elysian
CouncilTAS: "The Time Trap"

Tellarite (test shot)"Star Trek IV"

Tellarite (backstage)"Star Trek VI"

SkalaarENT: "Bounty"

The latest make-up since ENT: "Bounty" maintains the basic
look of the Tellarite faces with a nose which is modified once again to look less
swinish. The Enterprise Tellarites have recessed eyes again and five fingers.
Regarding their noses and other details, the repeated make-up revisions are small enough to
neglect them and attribute them to
better make-up techniques. Also, the Tellarite species could well have a certain
racial variety. However, there is no simple
explanation along the lines that there may be two sub-species with different
numbers of fingers, considering how important this characteristic would have
been in the course of their evolution, which would have given the five-fingered Tellarites a
decisive advantage. Maybe one of the two versions (preferably the rather rare three-fingered
TOS Tellarite) is actually a mutation, or some of the TOS Tellarites are wearing
strange furry gloves?

Bolians

The
Bolian look was subject to a number of amendments from early TNG to Voyager.
As it is with the Andorians too, we may ultimately explain away refinements of
the make-up. But above all the question whether Bolians are generally bald
still needs to be answered. The first Bolian to appear on screen is Captain Rixx
in TNG: "Conspiracy". His make-up is much fainter blue than of later
Bolians; in the dim lighting inside the asteroid one can hardly see that he is
blue at all. Note that the rift on his head is not running down his entire face.
It is interrupted above the eyes and between mouth and chin. This is different
in Mitena Haro's make-up in TNG: "Allegiance". Not only is the rift
more pronounced, she also has hair. Mitena Haro is captured together with Picard by unidentified aliens.
In her case it doesn't matter that she is only a fake Bolian, since Picard should
easily unmask her if all Bolians were hairless by nature. Thus, at the time of
the episode all female Bolians may have been supposed to have hair -- or they
all wear wigs. Actually in TNG: "Ménage ā Troi" we see a second
Bolian woman with hair sitting in Ten Forward. Mr. Mot, the Bolian hairdresser,
has an appearance in TNG: "Data's Day" and once again in "Ensign
Ro" (oddly played by a different actor the second time, but that is yet
another problem to explain). The fact that a bald Bolian chose to become a
hairdresser was obviously meant as an ironical prank, although it was never
stated that Bolians are all bald. It is also remarkable that the second Mot has
a make-up much like the first one, and unlike the DS9 Bolians whose look was
introduced in TNG: "Birthright", prior to "Ensign Ro".

Captain RixxTNG: "Conspiracy"

Mitena HaroTNG: "Allegiance"

Woman with hairTNG: "Ménage ā Troi"

Mr. Mot IITNG: "Ensign Ro"

The bridge officer on the Saratoga in the DS9 pilot
episode "Emissary" still has the same look as the TNG Bolians. The Bolian make-up was
revised a few episodes later and the colors are consistent hence. It is now a
more intensive blue, and darker blue stripes run across the head between the
ears. Since their blood is blue as shown in DS9: "The Adversary", we can
infer that these are arteries running directly underneath the skin.
It is remarkable that all female Bolians on DS9 and Voyager, including the TNG
episode "Birthright", are hairless. The same is true for children. We
have evidence in the form of a family photo from DS9: "Field of Fire"
with bald Bolian children. There is even better evidence that at least all male
Bolians are bald. In DS9: "The Muse" Jake Sisko spots a Bolian with hair on the
promenade deck and concludes he is trying to impress a dabo girl with his
toupee. The toupee looks really bad, but how can Jake be sure about that and
find it noteworthy if
not Bolians are generally hairless?

Woman without hairDS9: "Shadowplay"

Bolian bloodDS9: "The Adversary"

Man with toupeeDS9: "The Muse"

Bald kidsDS9: "Field of Fire"

Summarizing, the differences between the TNG and the DS9 Bolians may be still small enough to explain this as
individual characteristics of single Bolians or of races within the Bolian
species. Mitena Haro and the woman in Ten Forward may be human-Bolian hybrids, which would definitely be
sufficient to explain her hair. Alternatively, it may be a fashion among Bolian
women and some men to wear wigs -- and if only
to impress the opposite sex of other species. Bolians may have become bald in
the course of their evolution and now envy species like humans who still have
hair. These
suggestions may also explain why Mr. Mot has chosen the unusual profession of a
hairdresser (and the first version of Mot whose name was not mentioned, played by a different
actor, may be even a colleague of Mr. Mot).

As already mentioned the blue stripes were added to the
Bolian make-up soon after the pilot episode of DS9. Another revision took place
in the fifth season, when the make-up was supplemented with prosthetics that
change the shapes of their heads in addition to the central "channel"
across their faces. This is particularly odd in the case of the Bolian on
Voyager named Chell, whose appearance is accordingly revised between his early
and his later appearances in the series. His formerly egg-shaped head is much
wider at the top in the seventh-season episode VOY: "Repression".

The Bajorans arrived on the scene in TNG: "Ensign Ro" in the fifth
season where we could see, besides Ro Laren, a refugee camp with several members
of this species. Ro Laren became a more or less regular member of the Enterprise
crew and showed up in more episodes of the same season, such as
"Disaster", "Conundrum" and "The Next Phase".
Before Deep Space Nine was launched there was one appearance of another Bajoran
in TNG, namely of Sito Jaxa in TNG: "The First Duty", still in the
fifth TNG season. If we compare the initial TNG make-up to that of the now more
familiar Bajorans of DS9, we can see one notable dissimilarity: All early TNG Bajorans
without exception have two small bulges right above their eyebrows that is
missing in the DS9 version, and likewise in the TNG make-up of the seventh
season.

Keeve FalorTNG: "Ensign Ro"

Tahna LosDS9: "Past Prologue"

Lamonay aka IbudanDS9: "A Man Alone"

Winn AdamiDS9: "In the Hands..."

Kai Opaka and Kira Nerys wear the new DS9 make-up from day
one. However, some secondary Bajoran characters and extras in early DS9 can still be
seen with the bulges. Among them are Tahna Los in DS9: "Past Prologue"
and Lamonay S. (Ibudan's false identity, actually an anagram for
"anomaly") in DS9: "A Man Alone". Presumably the old
prosthetics still had to be used up.

Oddly, the make-up of the two Bajorans from the fifth TNG season who
reappeared in season seven was accordingly adapted. Whilst the actresses are
still the same in both cases, Ro Laren and Sito
Jaxa look visibly different without the additional bulges on their foreheads.
Although the explanation in the case of the three
TOS Klingons whose guise was significantly changed has to be another
one, the make-up revision even on established characters is a sign that it has
to be ignored altogether. Definitely Ro Laren and Sito Jaxa always looked the
same, at least during the less than two years between their first and second
appearances. Likewise, there would be no reason to assume that the Bajorans in
the refugee camp in TNG: "Ensign Ro" were all of the same subspecies
that we would never see again, or were all suffering from a disfiguring illness.
We should just suspend disbelief, bearing in mind that most viewers wouldn't even
perceive the difference!

Since the Jem'Hadar first appeared at the end of the
second season, their make-up never changed very much in the remaining five years
of DS9. All members of the race have in common: an overall angular head with
sharp edges, plates that cover the face but not the back of the head, a
uniformly gray facial skin with a reptilian-like structure, a thick and wrinkled neck (with an opening for the
Ketracel white tube on the left side), a pronounced lower jawbone with spikes, a small group of spikes on
the forehead, a
lateral spiky crest at either side of the head, no protruding ears. While
all Jem'Hadar were initially created using the same mask, their look was later
refined, giving individual members of their race more distinctiveness.

All Jem'Hadar appearing from DS9: "The
Jem'Hadar" up to the end of the fourth season look much alike. There appears to be
just one mask variant that must have been flexible enough to fit it to the
faces of different actors. We can make out differences in the face and nose
proportions of the Jem'Hadar, but most of all the eyes as the only parts visible
of the actors' faces make them look like different individuals. In addition to
that, there are small variations in the skin structure, as well as in the sizes,
shapes and colors of the forehead spikes. A rare variation is a Jem'Hadar with
additional spikes on his cheeks, as seen in DS9: "The Search, Part II".
Aside from these slight dissimilarities, all Jem'Hadar have just the lateral
(lowermost) crest with spikes around their head, a thumbnail-sized spike right
above their nose and no particularly protruding bones above their eyes in the
place of human eyebrows.

Third Talak'talan, "basic" lookDS9: "The Jem'Hadar"

Jem'Hadar with cheek spikesDS9: "The Search, Part II"

First Goran'Agar, "basic" lookDS9: "Hippocratic Oath"

First Omet'iklan, "basic" lookDS9: "To the Death"

Beginning with the fifth season, more precisely in DS9: "The Ship",
a new variant of the Jem'Hadar make-up was created. This one sports an
additional crest on the top of the head, as wells as one between the lateral
crest and the new one on the top. Also, this variant has more pronounced
"eyebrows", also in the form of protruding bones. The fifth and the
sixth seasons show us different variations of Jem'Hadar, with the
"basic" look up to season 4, with just the central crest, with additional
lateral crests but without the central one, and with all of them at once. In
addition, there is more variation regarding the "eyebrows" and the forehead bones just above the
nose that are often much larger than fingernail-sized.

First Ikat'ika, three crestsDS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow"

Jem'Hadar with "basic" lookDS9: "By Inferno's Light"

Jem'Hadar with central crestDS9: "A Time to Stand"

Third Remata'Klan, two crestsDS9: "Rocks and Shoals"

There are also rare variations such as two rows of spikes around the lower
jawbone as one in DS9: "Tears of the Prophets". All these make-up
variants may have been created with additional appliances on the existing basic
Jem'Hadar mask.

Second Ixtana'Rax, central crestDS9: "One Little Ship"

Jem'Hadar with "double chin"DS9: "Tears of the Prophets"

The seventh season comes with another variant that first appears in "The
Siege of AR-558" and dominates until the final episode. The characteristic
feature is a large spiky plate in the place of the former small protruding bones
above the nose. Another new variation of the seventh season sports a V-shaped
bone in this place, although this one, like all previous Jem'Hadar looks,
can be seen less frequently.

Jem'Hadar with spiky noseDS9: "The Siege of AR-558"

Jem'Hadar with spiky noseDS9: "Strange Bedfellows"

Jem'Hadar with V-shaped bonesDS9: "Tacking into the Wind"

Jem'Hadar with spiky noseDS9: "What You Leave Behind"

Finally, it is worth mentioning that, as seen in DS9: "The
Abandoned", Jem'Hadar babies have a smooth, human face, only with
something like "holes" above their nose, in the place where the spikes
of different shapes and sizes would soon grow on the adult Jem'Hadar.

Jem'Hadar babyDS9: "The Abandoned"

Jem'Hadar boyDS9: "The Abandoned"

Summarizing, the changes of the Jem'Hadar look over time are certainly not
extensive enough to require theories of sub-species or something like that.
Because of their genetically engineered nature we can readily explain the trend
toward more spiky (and arguably more menacing looking) Jem'Hadar with the
ongoing production of soldiers since the conflict and ultimately the open war
with Federation broke out. The existence of Alpha and Gamma Jem'Hadar may be
another rationale for different looks. But since this was only hinted at in DS9:
"One Little Ship" without establishing a substantial visual difference
between the Alphas and Gammas, it doesn't work out as a theory.

Credits

I am grateful to Christian for
fruitful discussion about the Romulan problem. Special thanks
go to Jörg
Hillebrand for screen caps and additional observations about the Romulans, Andorians
and Bolians. Thanks to George Coliber for observations about the
"Offspring" Andorian, to Love Robin
for suggesting that Thelin could be an Aenar, to Hans
Schumacher for spotting the Tellarite problem, to Christopher
Mace for more information about TOS Tellarites, to Raja,
KamatariSeta and Liam for information about the Romulans, to Dan
Carlson and Tobias Heintz for suggestions about the Bolians, to Kelso,
Reverend and Harry
for more supplements, to Lee Sherman for ideas about two different Romulan
races, to Therin
of Andor for correcting a couple of facts about the Andorians and to Michael James Moore
for a hint about TNG Bajorans on DS9.